How to avoid the Disney Dreamlight Valley time travel glitch ruining save files

Dec 08, 2023

Disney Dreamlight Valley fans playing on the Nintendo Switch may be tempted to skip forward in time using their console's internal clock, but it can have devastating effects on save files – even making them unusable.

Disney Dreamlight Valley combines relaxing, slice-of-life gameplay with iconic Disney characters, creating a unique and cozy game for fans of either genre to enjoy. Similar to Animal Crossing, Dreamlight Valley syncs to the console's real-time clock, determining the time of day that is visible while players are exploring.

Unfortunately, this real-time gameplay isn't always the best for everyone. Those playing in the evening may not have access to sleeping characters, or some may simply get tired of constant daylight/evening hours while decorating and farming.

The solution for this (which was a popular solution in Animal Crossing: New Horizons) is to "time travel" by setting the console clock backward or ahead to the desired in-game time. However, this can have devastating consequences on early access gameplay in Disney Dreamlight Valley.

As explained in the help channel of the Disney Dreamlight Valley Discord, the developers of the game are asking players not to mess with the time set on their consoles while playing.

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Time traveling has caused a myriad of issues with crop growth, item spawns, character quests, and other aspects of gameplay. User Hades stated, "It's why we’re advising not to time travel. It isn't intended in this game and as such is causing a lot of issues for folks."

A few fixes have been offered to reset the spawns in Disney Dreamlight Valley, however, they seem less effective on the Switch. Additionally, the spawns have been reported to remain inconsistent following fixes, making progression impossible.

While some may be able to wait out the time travel consequences, others haven't been so lucky, and have had to start their games over from the beginning. This is a frustrating and costly fix, especially for players who have already completed several quests or unlocked many locations on the map.

Unfortunately, due to these issues, it is not recommended players use the time travel cheat at this time. While waiting for a character to wake up can be tedious, and not fit into the playtimes of players with real-life schedule conflicts, it is definitely better than being forced to restart a save – especially in a game that only offers one save file per profile.